Thousands Of People Are Hearing A Weird Humming Noise - And No One Knows Why

Thousands of people around the world keep hearing a mysterious, low ‘hum’ - like a lorry’s engine idling - sometimes so intensely it keeps them awake all night.

And no one knows where The Hum is coming from.

Dr Glen MacPherson is determined to find out the source of the noise - and his website has seen more than 10,000 reports about The Hum since it launched in 2012.

Dr MacPherson told Yahoo in an interview, ‘The reports are increasing exponentially, as people can now more safely come forward and tell others about their experience.

‘The emotional response from people who learn that they are not alone, and not delusional, has been excellent as well.’

In the Seventies, the noise made headlines as ‘the Bristol Hum’ - with some victims claiming that they suffered nosebleeds and headaches from the rumbling sound.

More recently, the ominous noise resurfaced in Hythe in 2013, with local woman Val Caachi saying, ‘You can’t ignore it - it’s pulsing in your head. It sounds ridiculous but it does keep you awake all night.’

The eerie rumbling has become so famous it featured on the X-Files.

Previous reports have suggested that the noise might be caused by mating fish, submarines, or wind farms - but people report hearing it in dozens of countries, and in locations far from the sea.

Dr MacPherson is looking for common factors which might explain the strange noise.

He says, ‘Men comprise about 54% of Hum hearers. Ambidextrous people (equally strong left and right hands) are very much overrepresented among hearers.

‘The average age is about 41 (contrary to the oft-repeated belief that hearers are mainly middle-aged and older).’

What are its effects?

Outbreaks of ‘The Hum’ can seriously affect people’s health - with many saying that it causes long-term sleeplessness.

One victim said, ‘I have been having heart palpitations since i started hearing this I have been for medical check ups but all results have come back normal, i do not smoke, drink or take drugs.’

A woman told The Independent, ‘For the first few years I lost sleep, couldn’t concentrate and was unable to do anything. I was constantly in tears, which put a great strain on my husband. It has changed me from an active, creative person to a stifled, angry pessimist.’

Many victims also suffer a fear that they are going mad, as even their own family members cannot hear the same noise.

In Hythe, several families said they were contemplating moving home due to the intensity of the noise - but other neighbours could not hear it at all.

What are the theories?

In the Seventies, the ‘Hum’ became a tabloid news story, with a newspaper asking, ‘Have you heard the Bristol hum?’ and hundreds of victims coming forward.

But what isn’t clear is whether the hum existed before this point.

That could determine whether ‘the Hum’ is caused by recent technologies - with one of the leading theories being that it’s caused by radio waves.

Dr MacPherson says, ‘VLF radio frequencies between 3 Hz and 30 kHz (and possibly ELF frequencies below 3 kHz) are interacting with living tissue and activating the human auditory system in a way the brain interprets as sound, and sometimes as perceptions of physical vibration (The perception of EM energy as hissing and/or popping sounds has already been established at higher frequencies, such as radar and microwaves).

Other theories include the idea that it’s caused more generally by low frequency noises from human activities such as mining, traffic or wind farms.

But if it turns out that the Hum has existed for longer than 50 years, that might change things.

If it turns out ‘the Hum’ has existed for longer than a century, it could also be coming from inside people’s bodies, Dr MacPherson says.

‘The World Hum could be an internal body process along the lines of otoacoustic emissions and tinnitus. If the currently accepted timeline of the Hum is correct, then I think this theory is unlikely. If we find historical evidence of the Hum, then this theory becomes a serious contender.’

How will we work out the source of The Hum?

Dr MacPherson is designing an experiment which could prove whether or not ‘The Hum’ is produced by radio waves.

Dr MacPherson says, ‘I have designed a built a metallic box that will completely block VLF radio waves. I am lining up volunteers to test it.’

A researcher is also investigating historical records for reports of ‘the Hum’ prior to the 20th Century.

If such reports are found, it could change everything.

Dr MacPherson says, ‘ ‘I have a person digging into the historical records to find evidence of the Hum in 19th century England. If it can be solidly established that the Hum has occurred in past centuries, then this would be a piece of evidence for the theory that the Hum is the result of a terrestrial/geological process.